


To The Bone

by InMyAsylum



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-05-07 13:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 6,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14671725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InMyAsylum/pseuds/InMyAsylum





	1. The Enchanted Forest

"My Queen." He has a soft voice but still terrifies her. They have been married for a year now. This life, for some one of luxury and wealth but for her a cage. A golden cage but a cage nonetheless. She looks up to him, her husband, The King of The Enchanted Forest. "It's time." She nodds and takes his hand. To an outsider it seems a gesture from him helping her up from the bench she's sitting on, but Regina knows better than that. It's one of his ways to let her know he's in control. Not she. Never she.

He puts his hand on the small of her back while walking beside her to their bed chamber. The both of them are silent. The King doesn't speak to her unless it's unavoidable and Regina isn't allowed to talk to him unless being spoken to.

Her dresser is waiting for the Royal Couple in the hallway. He follows The King and his Queen, who is a beautiful young lady. No one in the Kingdom understands their marriage; The King must be at least 40 years older than she is. But no one stood up for her. Everyone is afraid of The King and what he can do. So Regina's dresser quietly follows them into the Royal Bed Chamber. In there The Queen immediately puts down her dress. She knows what is expected from her. The King unties the tight corset she's wearing underneath. The dresser looks away when The King strokes Regina's bare back. She's much too young for this kind of life and she certainly doesn't deserve King Leopold as her husband, who treats her as one of his possessions and not as his wife.

The King sits down on a chair in front of Regina so he has an excellent view on her. The dresser knows that this is his sign to get to work. Like every month for the past year he takes his measuring tape and measures The Queen's body. He works quickly but with respect for the girl. Every time he needs to touch her body he makes sure to look her in the eye; she has deep brown eyes but every time he sees them, he also sees the emptiness. The clear absence of any emotion. He figures it's her way to deal with this life that has been forced on her.

After a couple of minutes, the dresser nodds. The Queen turns around so her husband can put the corset back on. King Leopold ties the laces firmly together. The dresser hears a sharp inhale coming from The Queen. Then a small yelp; The King has pinched her arm without a doubt. Everyone knows that's how The Queen's arms are painted with small bruises. When The Queen is dressed again, The King looks at the dresser who now nodds. "The Queen is definitely losing weight, my King. She looks more and more stunning with every passing day." This is not what the dresser wants because this young girl is too tiny, too small for her age and height, but this is what The King wants to hear. The dresser nodds and bows before leaving the Royal Bed Chamber.

When Regina's dresser has left their bed chamber, King Leopold turns to his wife. "Don't make that mistake again or you'll find yourself in the dungeons one day." he says. "Yes, my King." A very soft and tiny voice emerges from the young girl. When The King leaves her for the rest of the day, Regina sits in the chair closest to the window and looks outside. She watches the sun set at the horizon.


	2. Boston

"Miss Mills?" The woman, who is sitting on one of the benches in the yard of the Boston's Psychiatric Unit, looks up to the nurse who just called her name. "It's time." The woman nodds. She slowly gets up from underneath the apple tree, her favorite one. She can look at it for hours and never get bored.

Regina Mills follows the nurse inside the building. Her name is Deidre, she knows, although Regina doesn't talk to anyone. She speaks, of course, because she is the Mayor of a little town not too far from Boston and she needs to use her voice occasionally, but that's it. Regina has never been one to use many words.

Both women walk into the dining room on the top floor of the building. As usual Regina chooses her seat carefully: close to the door but not in anyone's surroundings. She likes having space around her and the opportunity to get away.

When Deidre sits down and puts a plate in front of her, Regina immediately turns away. She can already feel the tension of the young nurse next to her building up. "Miss Mills?" Regina shakes her head. "You need to eat something. You haven't eaten all day." Again, Regina shakes her head. She won't. She just... won't.

Five. That's the number of women who stay here at the Boston's Psychiatric Unit to get help. Regina is one of them. She's been here for a week now and she managed to eat as little as possible, just enough to stay alive. "Regina, please?" Deidre tries again, but the second she uses the woman's first name, Regina flees away. Out of the dining room, out of the building, to the yard and to the apple tree.

It doesn't take long for Deidre to find her. She is the nurse who, for the most part, looked after Regina Mills. The woman, 35 years old, is a mystery to her. A week ago she was brought in by a man named Robin. He had found her lying unconsciously in her office. After consulting a doctor in their town, he had brought her here. She's just skin and bone but somehow she manages to stay alive.

Regina starts treatment tomorrow. The first week was a time for observation. Tomorrow the real work begins. The head of this unit, Dr. Anderson, is a very nice, sweet and calm woman. Deidre hopes she will be able to help Regina Mills but she also realizes it's going to be tough. She may be a mystery to her, but one thing is for certain: Regina must have had a very, very hard life until now.


	3. The Enchanted Forest 2

When The King returns later that evening, Regina hasn't moved from her spot near the window. She has fallen asleep on the spacious chair. He doesn't wake her. He simply takes off his clothes and lies down in the king-sized bed. He falls asleep quickly, without another glance at his Queen. 

Regina wakes up in the middle of the night, feeling cold. It's still early in the fall but the temperature during night time tends to drop fast.

She gets up from the chair by the window. She tries to sneak into bed, underneath the warm sheets, but King Leopold jolts awake when he feels movement next to him. He grabs Regina by the wrist and squeezes. "You really think you are smarter than me?" he whispers, his voice dangerously low. "I should think you'd know by now."

Regina bows her head before she answers. "My King, I'm sorry. I'm just so cold." A little yelp. One of the King's habits is to pinch Regina in her arms or her wrists to make her stop talking or to discipline her when she's not doing what's been expected from her. "I don't care." he snaps. "You should know by now you're not allowed to fall asleep before I do." He softly strokes her cheek. "Now be a good girl and go back to sleep."

Regina nodds slowly. "Yes, my King." she whispers. She then lays back down on the chair in front of the window. She tries to keep herself warm by stroking her arms and legs but it's of no use. Shivering from the cold Queen Regina doesn't get any more sleep that night.


	4. Boston 2

"Miss Mills?" Regina looks up when her name is called. A woman offers her hand. "My name is Dr. Anderson, but feel free to call me Jennifer." Regina nodds, ignoring the extended hand. She looks back down, back into the book she was reading. "Can we talk for a bit?" Jennifer Anderson isn't surprised when the woman in front of her doesn't acknowledge the fact of her being there. Deidre, one of the nurses who works in her team, has informed her of Regina Mills. She's a quiet woman who keeps to herself all the time. She's either sitting underneath the apple tree in the garden of the facility or in her room reading a book. It's in her room where Dr. Anderson introduces herself.

"Regina?" she tries again. This elicits a reaction; Regina slams her book shut and looks up again. "I prefer Miss Mills." Dr. Anderson nodds. "Alright. Miss Mills it is." she smiles. "Can we talk for a bit?" She repeats her question from before. "There is nothing to talk about so you can spare yourself the effort and let yourself out." Regina wants to open her book again to continue reading but Dr. Anderson prevents her from doing that by putting down her hand on the book. "Please?"

Regina's eyes narrow for just a split second before she sighs and puts away her book. "Thank you." Dr. Anderson smiles. "Is it alright if I sit down next to you?" She points at the bed Regina is sitting on. A sharp breath escapes the woman's throat. The doctor smiles assuringly before sitting down on the chair next to Regina's bed. "I can imagine you like it better if I sit here. After all I'm still a stranger. That's why I'm here today. I would like to get to know you better and I would like for you to get to know me better. We will be spending a lot of time together, so...". Regina cuts her off." I'm not interested." Dr. Anderson smiles again. "I thought you'd say that." "Then why are you here? Why even bother?" Regina counteracts again. The doctor isn't thrown off balance that quickly. "Because you might think you're not worth the trouble, but I don't agree with that."

Regina sighs again. Clearly this woman isn't going away that easily. "You can't force me to talk." She looks at the woman with fire in her eyes. "I know I can't. It's not my place to tell you what to do. I believe people are experts of their own life. You know why you are here and you know what's best for you." Regina's eyes narrow again. "But?" she asks. Dr. Anderson continues. "But somewhere along the way you lost track of what's best for you. I'm here to help you with that. I can't force you to talk. I can only tell you I'm here to listen to you if you decide you do want to talk to someone."

"There is nothing to talk about." Regina repeats. The doctor smiles again. "Maybe not. But maybe there is. Only you can decide if you want to accept the help we are offering you." She gets up from the chair. "I will be here all evening. My door is open for you, Miss Mills."

When Dr. Anderson opens the door to leave Regina's bedroom, a question escapes the woman's lips. "When can I see my son?"


	5. The Enchanted Forest 3

Regina startles when King Leopold strokes her cheek. "I'm sorry for last night." he whispers in her ear. His warm breath makes her sick to her stomach. She doesn't look up because she knows she's not allowed to unless he specifically tells her to do that. "Look up." he commands. The young Queen does exactly that; she looks up into her husband's eyes. "There's my good girl." The King smiles. He holds up his hand. "Join me." Regina quickly takes his hand and gets up from the chair.

He immediately takes her into a firm grip against his body. His tongue finds her neck. "Not a word. Not even a sound or you'll spend the rest of the month in the dungeons." Regina simply nodds. The King is quick to undress her. He softly strokes her hips. "You're still too fat." he snaps. "You don't get to eat today, understood?" Regina nodds again. "Yes, my King." she whispers. "Good girl."

The King leads Regina to his bed. It has always been his. Regina never had a choice in the matter. He pushes her down on it, spreading her legs for him. The young Queen lies perfectly still. She hates this, hates it every time.

When The King is done, filling her with his warm sperm, he sinks down next to her. "Next time I want you to move with me. You're my Queen and you need to show me your love." He doesn't ask; he demands. "Yes, my King." Regina whispers again. She feels sick. "Go clean yourself up."

Regina quickly goes to the adjoining bathroom. The first thing she does is throw up in a bucket. She hears King Leopold laughing. "That's my good girl. You'll definitely lose some weight now." Tears stream down her face. "Yes, my King." she whispers a last time.


	6. Storybrooke

"Henry? Dinner is ready!"

A young boy with messy brown hair walks into the dining room after his mother called his name. "Lasagna, my favorite." he smiles. "Thanks mom!" Regina hugs her son before setting down their plates. "I'm glad it's your favorite. It's mine as well so I can make it as often as we want." The two of them sit down at the dining table.

It's Regina's first and only meal of the day. She's very conscious about her weight. She may not be as tiny as she was back home, back in The Enchanted Forest, back when she was His Queen, but she's still very thin. Regina knows it's not healthy but she doesn't know how to stop. So every evening she eats a full meal, together with her son.

"How was your day, sweetheart?" The boy snorts. "Mom, I'm 10 years old. You don't have to call me sweetheart anymore."

"Nonsense. You'll always be my sweetheart, even when you'll be in your thirties."

"Mom!" Regina smiles brightly. "Don't tell me you like it better when Emma calls you kid." She raises an eyebrow. Henry laughs now. "I don't like either." he mumbles under his breath.


	7. Boston 3

"Your son?" Dr. Jennifer Anderson takes a quick look into her notes. "You never mentioned a son before." The woman on the bed rolls her eyes. "When can I see him?"

"I'll call your emergency contact and schedule a visit as soon as possible."

"My emergency contact? I never... Who...?" Regina mumbles, obviously confused. "The man who brought you in. Robin. Do you remember him?" Regina sighs now. Of course. Of all the people in Storybrooke, he was the one finding her in her office after she passed out. "I remember." Dr. Anderson nodds. "I'll call and ask him if he can come visit you with your son." The brunette looks up to the doctor. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"What do you want in return?" The emotion in Regina's eyes starts to look a lot like panic. Fear of what she might need to do to be able to see her son.

"Did you always have to give something in return when someone did something nice for you?" the doctor wants to know.

Immediately Regina folds back into herself. "Never mind. Forget I asked." she whispers.

"Regina?" Jennifer takes a small step closer towards the woman on the bed. Regina freezes. "I'll be good. Please." she whispers with a very tiny voice.


	8. Storybrooke 2

10 years ago in Storybrooke, Maine

"Mr. Gold." Regina nodds to the older man when she enters his shop on the main street of Storybrooke. It's been 18 years since she cast The Dark Curse to create this little town in a forgotten corner in Maine.

"Madame Mayor." The man in question returns her nodd. "What can I do for you on this lovely day?" For the last 18 years, every day has been the same for the inhabitants of the town. No one realises it though. Regina Mills, Queen of The Enchanted Forest, cast The Dark Curse because she needed to get out of the life that was forced on her. She never wanted any of it. She never wanted to be Queen. She never wanted to be his wife. All she wanted was to be free and happy. Unfortunately for her, this was never in her cards.

"I want a child and I need your help."

"Well, I'm flattered, but not interested." Little imp, Regina thinks to herself. He's always been a bully, even in The Enchanted Forest. Back there she needed to get dark, needed to become evil. It was the only way out. Or so she thought. Regina really thought this life could be her happy ending. She thought if she was in control, if she created a town according to her wishes, and hers alone... She could be happy. But to cast The Dark Curse, she needed to be... well... Dark.

She went to Rumplestiltskin, better known as The Dark One back then, for help. She could have asked him to cast The Curse but then she wouldn't be in control herself. And for once she needed to be in control of her own life. So she let him train her. She allowed him to teach her everything about dark magic. She crossed lines she never imagined she'd ever cross. She let him convince her to kill the thing she loved most, in order to be able to cast The Curse.

She really thought she could have her happy ending in Storybrooke. But what's life if every day is the same? If everyone does what you ask of them, but only because they're afraid of you, of your power as Mayor, and not because they want to? And what is life if you have no one to share it with?

"Not like that. I want to adopt." Regina sneers.

"Of course you do." Mr. Gold smirks. Regina always wondered if he remembers. Because of The Dark Curse, no one remembers their precious life in The Enchanted Forest, but Regina always wondered if he, if Mr. Gold remembers.

"You can get me a child, can't you? You have all the knowledge when it comes to rules and laws and contracts. You must know a way to help me."

"Only if you say please... Please." Mr. Gold looks Regina straight in the eyes. He loves this little agreement he made with The Queen, or better The Evil Queen, before she cast The Curse. She has to do everything he says, as long as he says please. The woman in front of him was such a naive little girl when she sought him out for help. She really believed he wouldn't remember anything of his life in The Enchanted Forest. It makes her... attractive in some way.

"Please." Regina's eyes narrow in anger. This is exactly why she thinks Gold does remember.

"What's in it for me?" Mr. Gold wants to know.

Regina knew he was going to ask this question. She has long thought about it so she doesn't hesitate when she answers him. "I owe you one." Mr. Gold smiles. This is exactly what he wanted to hear.


	9. The Enchanted Forest 4

(Thanks for the comments! It's really true what every writer says: comments, both praise as well as criticism and tips, really do motivate to get on with writing, so... Keep them coming!)

 

Queen Regina of The Enchanted Forest feels thankful when her husband, The King, leaves The Royal Castle, even if it's just for a couple of hours. It gives her time to breathe, to calm down and to do what she loves. Of course, that's only possible when her mother isn't around as well. Luckely today is a good day. When her husband leaves, Regina has the whole Castle to herself. Technically, herself and some hundred servants, but still. It's better than nothing.  
The young girl, barely 20 years old by now, immediately changes into a soft dress. She doesn't at all like to wear the heavy dresses, high heals and the bunch of jewelry her husband chooses for her; but she quickly learned to not say anything about it. Today Regina can wear her favorite light dress, a cream colored one, with flat shoes. She loosens her hair and walks outside.  
She loves being outdoors. She loves being around her horse, Rocinante, but she isn't allowed very much time with her. She always has to be beside The King, in every meeting and at every party. He likes to brag with her. He likes to show her off to everyone. He's never very subtle, squeezing her wrists and arms even in public when she's not doing what he expects her to do or simply because he feels like it, because he wants to show her and everyone else who's in charge. He also isn't subtle when he kisses her in front of their guests, forcing his way into her mouth, even sliding his hands underneath her dress. He doesn't know any boundaries. Or he does know them but he couldn't care less. Somehow the latter makes Regina feel even more sad.   
The guests are as uncomfortable as Regina when The King acts like that but there is no one who ever stands up for the young Queen. Everyone is afraid of The King, of what he might do to the lands if someone ever disobbeys him. Everyone knows they all depend on him.  
The young brunette girl smiles when she greets her horse at the stables. A real smile for once, not one of the fakes she mastered over the past two years. The servants who are working at the stables love to see her like this. They bow to greet her but Regina notices even they are much more relaxed and open towards her when The King is away. The young Queen nodds to accept their greeting. She never lets her guard down but she does dare to smile more, talk more when her husband is gone.  
"How is she doing?" Regina asks one of the stable boys, nodding towards Rocinante.  
"She has been missing you, my Queen." The boy, Daniel, bows again. Regina holds up her hand, a sign that bowing once is enough. "I know. I miss her as well." She leans her head against Rocinante's nose and gently strokes her neck. "I don't have enough time to go for a ride right now, but I promise next time I will." she whispers to the horse. Regina looks back at Daniel. She smiles at him, insecure. They are practically the same age but Regina's standing is a lot higher on the social ladder than he will ever be. They both startle when a stern voice sounds behind them. "My wife." Regina immediately turns around but not without Daniel noticing the fear in those deep brown eyes.  
The young girl bows, just like every servant in the stables. "My King." she answers softly. She quickly walks towards him. "Of course I find you here. In the dirt." He grabs her by her arm, pinches her in her wrists and, almost violently, takes her with him towards The Royal Castle. "What are you wearing? You have to change immediately. We are having guests tonight and I need you to be perfect."  
"Yes, my King. What would you like me to wear?"  
"Your dresser will help you afterwards." The young Queen doesn't have to ask what 'afterwards' means. She knows this look in his eyes. Pure and evil lust. She isn't surprised when he takes the both of them to their bed chambers. "Put down your dress. I can see you're not wearing a corset. How many times do I have to tell you! You're too fat to not wear a corset. Put down your dress immediately!" Within seconds the dress slips down to the ground, leaving nothing but her panties on the young Queen's body. "Better. Not completely perfect. Not yet." King Leopold stands closely in front of his wife. "Let's make it perfect, shall we, dear?" Regina nodds. "Yes." she whispers. She feels his hands on her hips, pushing her panties down as well. "Much better. Much, much, much better. But still not perfect." His big hands squeeze her flesh. "Too fat." he snaps. Regina looks down. "I'm sorry, my King. I really am trying the best I can."  
"It seems your best isn't quite good enough, now is it?" The girl shakes her head in denial. "It isn't. I'll do better. I'll be good." she whispers.  
"I know you will." King Leopold kisses her softly on her lips. His tongue immediately demands entrance into her mouth. Regina doesn't hesitate and acts like she has learned over the last two years. The King's big hands wander over her body. The Queen hates it. Her body betrays her every time, giving the illusion she likes this. But she does not. Not one bit of any contact with the King she likes.  
"You will have to be perfect tonight, Regina." The Queen looks up at her husband. He only uses her first name when something bad is about to follow. "Like I said, we are having guests tonight. Two of my dearest friends would love to meet you. They rarely visit my lands and you have to make sure their stay in my Castle is perfect. Do you understand me, Regina?" The King puts a finger under her chin and makes her look at him. "Yes, my King. I understand." the Queen answers very softly. He smiles and pushes her down onto their bed.


	10. Storybrooke 3

"Let's go upstairs."  
"Why?" Regina doesn't trust Mr. Gold, Rumplestiltskin, not even for a penny.  
"Let's talk about this upstairs. Please." The Mayor's legs seem to move out of their own accord. She follows Mr. Gold upstairs, towards the private part of his house. He lives above his shop on Main Street.  
"I don't understand why we couldn't just discuss this downstairs. Why in Heaven's name do we have to come up here?" Regina sneers. "It's even a bigger mess than your shop."  
"That talk." Gold starts. "That talk of yours. It's starting to get on my nerves."  
"What are you…". But Regina isn't able to finish her sentence because Mr. Gold interrupts her. "Stop talking, please." He looks at her with a smirk on his face, knowing the woman in front of him won't be able to talk for at least a minute. He walks towards her and strokes her cheek. "Madame Mayor. You've done quite a good job creating this place, haven't you? But I see you're still not happy. There's a hole inside your heart, isn't there? A void, something is missing. I've warned you about that but you just couldn't listen, now could you?"  
Regina looks up to him. "You do remember." she whispers.  
"Of course I do. What did you think? I'm Rumplestiltskin after all. You should not have underestimated me, dear."  
"It's been 18 years. Why do you tell me this now?"  
"You never came to me before about adopting a child. You forget, Your Highness, as The Dark One I had the ability to look into the future. I knew this time would come."  
"So you can help me? Getting a child?"  
Mr. Gold smirks. "Of course I can. I already know which child to get you."  
Regina eyes him suspiciously. "How the hell is that possible?"  
Gold smirks again. "That's for me to know and for you… not." He smiles. "That's enough for now. First things first."  
"What do you mean?"  
He puts his finger on her lips. "Silence." His finger slides down her chin towards her collar bone.  
"Gold." Regina sneers. She takes a step back. She doesn't like him standing so close against her.  
"Am I really going to have to say please all of the time, Regina?" The woman in front of him looks up. He used her first name. Does he know what that means to her?  
"Don't touch me, you imp." she warns him.  
"Stand still and be silent. Please." He takes a step towards her again. "Please." he repeats himself, while leaning his face towards hers.


	11. Boston 4

"Regina...".

Suddenly the woman on the bed looks up again, snapping out of whatever was going on inside her mind. "Miss Mills." she says. "I prefer Miss Mills."

Dr. Anderson nodds. "Alright. I'm sorry. Miss Mills, what just happened?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure? It seemed to me you were clearly afraid of something."

"I am not afraid of anything." Regina holds her head up high and looks Dr. Anderson straight into her eyes, almost daring her to counteract again. The doctor however has many years of training under her belt. She knows when to back off in order to gain even a little bit of trust from her patients.

"I'm sorry. My mistake. As I said, Miss Mills, I'll be here all evening. I'll contact Robin immediately and ask him when he can come visit you with your son."

"Thank you."

"I'll pick you up after my call."

"What for? I'd like to stay in my room for the rest of the evening."

"It's almost dinner time, Miss Mills. I'll be guiding you tonight."

The woman on the bed sighs but she knows better than to argue right now. She doesn't know this person in front of her, not yet, and she's not sure if the doctor is going to make her requested call if she behaves bad right now. So Regina just nodds. "Alright."

15 minutes later Dr. Anderson knocks on the door to Regina's bedroom. She waits for approval to go inside. "Yes?"

The doctor opens the door. "Miss Mills? I've made the call. Robin and your son will visit you tomorrow after breakfast."

"Thank you." Regina smiles. Is that relief in her eyes? Dr. Anderson isn't quite sure. This woman clearly has very little, if not zero, faith in others. What happened to her to be like this?

Regina gets up from her bed and, without a word, follows the doctor towards the dining room. As usual she sits down on her favorite spot, close to the door. She looks at her lap and doesn't acknowledge the plate being set in front of her. She doesn't look up to the person sitting down next to her.

"Miss Mills, it's time for dinner." Dr. Anderson says softly. Regina shakes her head. If it would be Deidre sitting next to her, she would have felt the girl tense. But Dr. Anderson remains the calmness itself. She doesn't say anything else right now, doesn't acknowledge Regina not doing anything, doesn't push her to do anything she doesn't want.

"I'm not hungry."

"I know you're not. Your body doesn't recognize hunger anymore. You've been having this eating disorder for quite some time, haven't you?"

Regina looks up. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because the longer you are breaking down your body like this, the more effort it will take to recover. I'm not going to lie, Miss Mills. This will be hard and at times it won't be pretty. But I'm here for you and I'll be helping you every step of the way. "

Regina does the math in her mind. She can't say the whole truth, because for 28 years time stood still in Storybrooke. 28 years in which her eating hasn't been good. 28 extra years she can't share with this woman. "17 years." Regina admits. "It's been 17 years. Or do we also count the years in which my mother constantly critised me about my appearance? Then it would be something like 25 years."

The doctor doesn't seem surprised. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

Regina sighs. She feels she needs to be careful around this woman. She clearly knows her job very well, making Regina talk even though she isn't inclined to do that.

"Can I go to my room?"

"We'll be waiting until everyone has finished their meal."

"Fine." Regina sneers now. She doesn't want to be here. She doesn't want to see people eating, as hard as it might be for every single one of them. She just wants to be left alone.

After what feels like ages, one of the nurses collects the plates, some empty, some half empty, one untouched. Before the plate disappears, Dr. Anderson takes off the dessert. A small tangerine.

"Can you try to eat this, Miss Mills?"

Regina shakes her head. The doctor slowly peals the fruit, setting down piece next to piece in front of Regina.

"It's fruit. It won't make you fat."

"It's not about getting fat." Regina snaps, immediately regretting this.

"It's not?" Dr. Anderson sounds surprised but she's really not. It's never about getting fat.

"You know well enough it's not. Now leave me alone. I'm done." Regina snaps. She doesn't leave the dining room though. The smell of the tangerine has reached her nostrils and, no matter how hard Regina tries to deny it... She's starved. She's so very hungry but her mind panics by just thinking about getting food into her system. "Leave me alone." she repeats.

"You're free to go to your room now, Miss Mills." Dr. Anderson offers. She gets up herself but Regina doesn't follow her example. Her right hand, lieing next to the fruit on the table, trembles. The doctor remains silent now, observing what Regina is going to do.

"I... I..." Regina mumbles softly.

"He won't see it." Dr. Anderson whispers.

Regina immediately turns around, darkness overclouding her eyes. "What did you just say?"

"He won't see it." the doctor simply repeats herself.

"He? Who's he?"

"I don't know, Miss Mills. Why don't you tell me?"


	12. The Enchanted Forest 5

"Stay still!"  
"You're hurting me. Please. Please, Leopold." A small voice sounds from under his body.  
"You're my wife. This is your duty!" The King spats out. He takes her wrists in one of his big hands and holds them above her head. "Now stay still!"  
"Please." the girl tries again. But he doesn't listen. He never listens. Instead, he slaps her in her face with his free hand.  
"Silence, wife!" He starts to kiss her to make her stop talking. He hates crying women. The young girl beneath him kicks with her legs now. He always hurts her, but not like this. "A.. Au.. W... L.. Leopold.. P.. Pl... Please." she cries, louder now.  
"Do I need to make it more clear so you can understand?" he sneers.   
"Please, just stop." The tears come quicker now and she can't stop them. Most of the times she can, but not today. "I'll be good to your guests, I promise."  
"I know you will. This is just me making sure you won't get other ideas inside that pretty head of yours."  
"I promise I'll be good. Please, you're hurting me."  
"Good." The King whispers in her ear now. "Don't you ever dare to forget who's in charge here."

He finally lets go of his hold on her. She feels him getting out of her and then off of her. The girl immediately curls up into a ball, holding her wrists against her chest. She notices his nails are pressed into them. She doesn't dare to look at him, afraid of making him angry again.

"Clean yourself up. I'll send the dresser in." King Leopold spats at his wife. He then leaves their bedchambers. The young Queen doesn't move. Only seconds later the door opens again. "My Queen." She looks up and sees her dresser bowing for her. "Yes. Yes, I'm ready." she whispers softly.

Regina gets up from the bed and stands perfectly still while her dresser helps her with the corset, the dress, the high heels and a bunch of jewels The King, again, has chosen for her to wear. After what feels like ages, Regina is finally ready. She leaves her bedchamber and walks downstairs, looking for her husband. She finds him talking to two men in the hallway.

When Regina reaches the men, they look at her with kindness. She bows. "My King." she says softly. She then smiles at his guests. King Leopold takes Regina by her wrist, gentle this time, and takes her close against his body. "I'm so happy to introduce to you, my wife, Queen Regina." The young girl bows again for the two men. "Your Highness." they both nodd, followed by a bow as well. "It is us who must bow to you."


End file.
